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The advent of photography-the making of images on light-sensitive materials-was heralded in 1839 with the debut of the daguerreotype. Over the next 50 years, the medium underwent radical changes, with the successive introduction of the calotype, the collodion print, and the tintype, and the increasing use of photography for portraiture and travel views. This fascinating study of the first half-century of photography covers not only its scientific developments but also its establishment as a documentary tool and, eventually, its critical acceptance as an art form.